


Hard to Let It Go

by greeneggs101



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, First Meetings, M/M, Soul Bond
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-13
Updated: 2018-08-13
Packaged: 2019-06-26 17:33:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15667971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greeneggs101/pseuds/greeneggs101
Summary: When two hands can meet, two hearts can touch and a soulmate bond forms with the person with whom the universe thinks you'll be happiest.Of course... this tends to work best if you can see the person you're touching. Sora had the worst luck when it came to that part. Now he just has to find his soulmate!





	Hard to Let It Go

**Author's Note:**

> Okay. I've always wanted to write a soulmate AU but this isn't the one I intended to write. It just sorta... came out. So it's kinda dumb. But I like it, in that 'it's kinda cute but kinda dumb' way.

Sora gritted his teeth, the rough texture of the monument grinding into his bare chest. The lard the graduating class used to grease up the stone was starting to rub off. It was good news for climbing, but it also meant that whatever hair may have been on his chest was now effectively getting scraped off. 

 

How did he manage to get himself into this position??

 

Sora really hadn’t meant to be one of the ones climbing up the tall obelisk, a monument to a woman long dead and gone. He thought for sure that his part in this decades long tradition would be to simply start using his shirt to wipe off the lard and then be pushed out of the way for the more competitive kids to start climbing. 

 

And yet, here he was, somehow being pushed to the top of the monument. 

 

The competitive kids quickly wore themselves out, their plan of just climbing the darn thing falling apart as soon as they slipped off for the 10th time. The freezing spray from the water hoses wasn’t helping, the graduating class laughing as they hosed down the juniors. 

 

The Moana Climb was a near 70 year tradition at Destiny Islands High School. The monument itself was an obelisk rising roughly 20 feet in the air, dedicated to the chieftess Moana, the great voyager and  founder of Destiny Islands nearly three hundred years before. First climbed by someone in Sora’s great grandfather’s graduating class as a joke, the tradition evolved over the years. Around the time Sora’s grandfather attended school, the graduating class would put a simple “dixie cup” sailor hat at the top for the junior class to replace with a captains hat, signifying their new position as the top students in school for the upcoming year. In Sora’s father’s time, the graduating class started to grease up the monument with lard to make it harder for the juniors to reach the top. 

 

The event was known around the islands and every parent, grandparent and the occasional tourist, came out for it. Sora didn’t see why, as the event could last for upwards of three hours. 

 

Such as now. Sora lost track of time somewhere around the two hour mark. 

 

“C’mon Sora! Hang in there!” 

 

Sora tried to turn his face towards the crowd, looking for Leon’s face, but he was too squished and afraid of slipping off to move too much. 

 

“Sora! I told you to lay off the ice cream!” His twin brother’s voice came from below, trying to push him up a little higher. 

 

“I’m not the one who ate a gallon of it last night!” Sora called back, too plastered to the monument to really glare at the blonde like he wanted to. 

 

He felt rather than heard Roxas give his huff of irritation, but any response was cut off by a spray of cold water that Sora felt grazing the back of his legs. He figured whoever was holding the hose was drenching Roxas. 

 

“Fuck you, Lea!” Roxas shouted. 

 

Sora heard the red haired upperclassman laugh, “Aw C’mon Roxie! You look good all wet and shirtless.”

 

Roxas turned to growl at the redhead, causing Sora to nearly lose his footing. Sora squacked, reaching around the monument, trying to find some sort of grip or anything to prevent himself from falling backwards. 

 

Suddenly, a pair of larger hands encompassing his own wrists, gripping tight, and Sora nearly lost his footing for a whole different reason. 

 

As soon as those warm hands touched his own, a spark similar to an electric shock traveled up the brunet’s arm and straight into his heart, causing it to beat faster for more reason than the exertion of climbing. For just a brief second, Sora couldn’t breath, couldn't think, and could only feel the overwhelming sense of rightness he had as soon as those hands touched his. The overwhelming feeling of “ _ Oh.. it’s you!” _

 

Sora realized that the other person must have felt it too, that second of not breathing, for the grip faltered and Sora hurried to hold on, grasping on to a pair of strong wrists. There was a roar from the other side. Did someone fall?

 

Soon Sora was steady against the stone again, though he couldn’t move his head to look around to the other side of the obelisk to see who was holding his hand. 

 

“Don’t move, Sora!” a feminine voice shouted from below. Kairi. 

 

Sora gripped those wrists tighter in an effort not to move, reassured when the hands holding his own returned the gesture. 

 

He heard a series of squeals of pain and surprised grunts before he felt someone’s foot dig into his back, then grunted as their next step landed on his head. 

 

Out of the corner of his eye, Sora saw the Dixie cup hat tumble away into the crowd below. Then there was a roar that nearly deafened him as the entire junior class started to cheer. Above him, Sora heard Kairi yell “Juniors no more!!!” 

 

Good. The redhead managed to place the captain’s hat on the monument. The crowd began to repeat her proclamation as she lost her grip. Thankfully, she fell backwards into the waiting crowd soon after as her weight was removed from Sora’s head. 

 

Unfortunately, the end of the climb meant that the bodies that were supporting Sora’s weight from below began to fall away, Sora falling with them. He felt the hands grasping his own squeeze tight and he tried return the gesture, but he exhausted all his energy and the adrenaline rush that had helped him hold on was slipping away. 

 

Between one breath and the next, Sora felt himself torn away from those strong hands as they slipped out of his fingers, before the brunet himself fell backwards. 

 

Luckily, (or maybe not), he fell on his brother, if the muttered curse was anything to go by. 

 

“Ugh! Sora get off! You’re heavy!”

 

“...Sorry...” Sora mumbled, rolling away from the blonde. 

 

Roxas glared at him, but must have seen something in his expression for his eyes turned worried instead, “Sora? What’s wrong?”

 

“I...” Sora trailed off, staring down at his hands. Now that the adrenaline rush had worn off, the brunet could focus on the feeling he just had when those hands touched his. The electric spark, the sudden rush of rightness. 

 

That person had been his-

 

Quickly, he tried to push his way to the other side of the monument, ignoing his brother’s shout. After a few moments of struggling he finally managed to look over. 

 

There was no one there who looked like they would be looking for him though.

 

Did he... imagine it?

 

_ No _ . Sora shook his head. It felt real. No way could it have been a one way match either. Right?

 

He glanced down at his hand. Right?

 

“Sora!” Kairi’s voice echoed in his ear as she came running up, a captain’s hat similar to the one that now adorned the Moana monument perched on her own head. “Sora! C’mon! They want to interview me for getting the hat up there, but I told them I couldn’t have done it without you.. Or rather your head.”

 

“What am I? Chopped fish?” Roxas grumbled, rubbing at his back, “I’m pretty sure your foot made a permanent indent in my back!”

 

“Oh stop whining!” Kairi stuck her tongue out at the blonde, “You can come too!” She turned back to Sora who had yet to move from his position, still looking at his hand in confusion. “Sora? What’s wrong? Did you hurt your hand?”

 

Sora finally glanced up from where he had been staring at his hands. 

 

“I... I think I just met my soulmate.”

 

\--

 

Later, after the interviews and the congratulations and the invitation for lunch with the principal, Kairi sat Sora down and stared at him. Hard. Roxas sat on his other side for support, running a towel through his own blonde hair to dry it. 

 

“So... soulmate, huh?” Kairi finally asked, the ridiculous celebratory captain’s hat still perched on her head. 

 

Sora stared down at his hands, where he had last touched his soulmate. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure. It felt like how Aunt Aerith described it. Like... Like I just knew I was meant to be with that person.”

 

“And you don’t know who it is?”

 

Sora shook his head, “Nah, I was pressed so close to the statue, couldn’t see anything but grey stone.” Sora felt his cheeks heat up. “But I think it was a guy, his hands... they were definitely a guy’s hands...” They felt strong, encompassing his own. 

 

“Ok, so why didn’t they come after you? I mean... you were right there!” Roxas protested, “Maybe it was just the adrenaline.”

 

“I... don’t know,” Sora sighed, “That’s why I ran off to the other side. To look for them. But... no one was there.”

 

“So... adrenaline,” Roxas affirmed. 

 

“Roxas...” Kairi let out a sigh, “I don’t think...”

 

“It’s not like that,” Sora cut her off, “Roxas... it’s like how you said you felt after you grabbed Lea’s hand to stop him from walking into traffic.” Sora let out a weak laugh, “We had to grab both of you to prevent you two from falling off of the curb.” He looked up at both of them. “I was so stunned, I couldn’t think, and it took me a moment to run over to the other side of the monument. Maybe he felt the same way, but ran in the other direction...” Or something. Maybe they just missed each other. 

 

“It was such a cluster afterwards,” Kairi agreed, “Even if he did run over, there’s no way for him to know which of those wriggling, flailing bodies was the one he touched.”

 

Roxas let out a sigh and stood up, “Well... how are we gonna find this guy then?”

 

“Huh?” Sora stared up at his brother.

 

“Look... I know this soulmate thing is a big deal to you, so I guess that means we gotta find this guy. You won’t be able to think straight till we do.”

 

“If it is a guy, I believe that “thinking straight” will be something Sora never does again,” Kairi giggled. 

 

“...Shut up...” Roxas mumbled and looked out the window to where the masses of parents and students were taking pictures by the monument. “Lea mentioned something about Isa recording the climb. Maybe he got something.”

 

“If not,” Kairi continued. “It’s not like the Junior class is that big. You’ll find them.”

 

Sora’s hands clenched and he looked up at both of them, “Yeah!”

 

\---

 

It was not as easy as it seemed. 

 

“Sorry, Roxas...” Isa said, rubbing the back of his hair, flattening the spikes till they sprung up again, “I mostly captured the area where you and Sora were...Great climb though, Kairi!”

 

“Hehe, thanks!” Kairi grinned. 

 

Sora let out a sigh, “Well... was there anyone else taping or taking pictures?”

 

“Pretty much the whole senior class...” Isa admitted. 

 

“Dude, the images of epic fails from the first two hours can be used as blackmail for years...” Lea smirked, apparently already having a few ideas in mind. 

 

Roxas punched him lightly in the arm, “Yeah, and then I’ll just pull up your arson records and--”

 

“Okay, okay,” Lea rubbed the back of his head, “Jeeze, and you used to be so quiet.”

 

“Then you made the mistake of getting to know me.” 

 

“Yeah...” 

 

Sora rolled his eyes and looked away when Lea and Roxas started kissing. Normally it didn’t bother him so much, but...today... He sighed and looked at his hands again. 

 

_ Who was he? _

 

“C’mon guys! We’re on a bit of a mission here!” Kairi called out. 

 

Finally, Roxas and Lea broke away, the blonde blushing a little. “Sorry...”

 

“Lea, you and Isa go and check with your friends with the graduating class. Sora, Roxas - You guys go check in with Leon and the other parents. Maybe someone in the crowd caught something.”

 

“What are you gonna do?” Lea asked. 

 

“Gonna catch up with Namine and Xion. Nam was at the back of the crowd, with Pence and Olette, while Xion was mixed in with the other underclassmen.” Kairi moved to go, then grimaced, looking down at her still wet bathing suit and gym shorts. “On second thought.... I’m gonna go change first.” She waved, “Meet you guys at the Usual Spot in an hour?”

 

“Sure!” Sora chirped. 

 

“Ah man, why couldn’t I have Roxie on my team?” Lea whined. 

 

“Because, she knows as well as I do that you two wouldn’t do anything but kiss,” Isa groaned, grabbing his friend by the arm and pulling him towards the door, “Now c’mon. I think I saw Larxene and Marluxia taking pictures on the other side of the monument.”

 

“Oh, joy.” Lea sounded so thrilled. 

 

“C’mon, Sora...” Roxas grabbed onto the brunet’s wrist. “At least Leon will have a change of clothes for us.”

 

Sora nodded. They had managed to find their t-shirts when the climb was over, but found that they had been reduced to little more than rags to start scrubbing the lard away. His shorts felt both grimy and slippery, a very uncomfortable feeling. 

 

He let Roxas lead him through the crowd of people, instead trying to focus on recreating that moment in his head. He had met his soulmate. The person the Universe thought he’d be happiest with. 

 

He had to remember something!

 

The hand that had encompassed his own was definitely bigger than Roxas’s, with callouses on the palm and fingers. 

 

So... someone who worked with their hands. 

 

The grip had been strong too....

 

But...

 

That was it. In the long run, it wasn’t much to go on. 

 

“Hey... there’s our little stepping stones!”

 

“Shut up, Uncle Zack,” Roxas grumbled, glaring up at the older man who merely grinned and ruffled the blonde’s hair. 

 

“At least you were there for Kairi before the 3-Hour mark,” the darker haired man continued to tease, “Thought for sure we’d be there forever.”

 

“It’s not like you stood there the whole time,” another voice cut in, “You took a break to get Aerith some ice cream.”

 

“Cloud!” Roxas grinned, and ran up to the older blonde, “You got my clothes right? Right?!” The older blonde held a bag out, which Roxas tried to grab for before it was raised just out of reach. Roxas pouted, trying to jump up to reach it. “C’mon! Please,  _ Dad _ ? Sora and I are on a mission and I really just want my shirt!!” 

 

Cloud let out a sigh and lowered the bag which was quickly and eagerly snatched up by Roxas. “What sort of mission?”

 

“Sora can explain,” Roxas said as passed the brunet one of the t-shirts, while tugging on another. 

 

Sora quickly pulled the shirt on. “Yeah... hey Cloud, did you or Uncle Zack take any pictures of the other side of the monument? The side Roxas and I weren’t on.”

 

“Huh? Why?” Zack pulled up his phone, “Sorry... I mostly got the side you guys were on. Got a great one of Kairi actually knocking the cap off.”

 

“We should send that one to her later,” Cloud stated. “I’m afraid I was saving the battery on my phone in case you guys called.”

 

“Oh...” Sora sighed. 

 

“Why?” the older blonde asked. Zack and Roxas continued to look at the pictures on the older man’s phone. 

 

Sora felt his cheeks heat up. Now he understood why Roxas didn’t want to tell their parents about Lea right away. Soulmates were generally the person you spent the rest of your life with and did....  _ Things _ ... with. It was embarrassing to tell his Dad that...

 

“Why does Sora resemble a tomato?” 

 

Sora glanced up at the face of his other father and suddenly felt his cheeks heat up at least another 10 degrees. 

 

Where was Lea with that water hose when Sora actually needed him?!

 

“Sora found his soulmate.”

 

_ Thanks, Roxas. _ Though... not with the way both of his parents were looking at him, Sora kinda wished the ground would swallow him up. 

 

“Oh?” Leon raised an eyebrow. 

 

Sora swallowed around his suddenly dry throat. “Um...well... yeah? Kinda?”

 

“Who is it?” Cloud laid both his hands on Sora, possibly in reassurance, possibly to make sure his embarrassed captive didn’t run away. 

 

Sora hoped it was the former. 

 

“I uh... don’t actually know...”

 

“How--”

 

“WetouchedhandsduringthemonumentclimbandthenwefelloffbutIdidn’tseehim...” Sora breathed out all at once. 

 

Cloud blinked while Leon let out a deep sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. 

 

“Sora...” Roxas elbowed him in the gut, “C’mon, if I can eventually get through telling them about Lea, you can get through telling them about your mystery man.”

 

Sora took a deep breath, then another before finally feeling his face start to cool back down to a normal human shade then said “When I was climbing up the monument, I lost my footing for a sec. When I scrambled for a handhold, his hand reached for mine... when they touched.” He blushed again, but it wasn’t nearly as bad. “It felt...awesome... kinda amazing.”

 

“You’re sure...” Leon questioned, “It wasn’t--”

 

“It wasn’t adrenaline or something!” Sora was sure of it, “It was real.... It was like how Aunt Aerith said it’d be like!” 

 

Another hand ruffled his hair, “Like the world just fades down to the two of you and you forget how to breathe?” 

 

Sora glanced up at his Uncle Zack who was grinning knowingly down at him, “Yeah... and there’s that feeling... that you know it’s the other person...”

 

Zack’s grin widened and he ruffled the brunet’s hair again, “Well...can’t argue with that. Definitely a soulmate bond.”

 

“Zack...” Cloud groaned but turned his gaze back to Sora. “If you’re sure--”

 

“I’m sure,” Sora reiterated. 

 

“Then we’ll find out who it is. You’re sure it’s a him?”

 

“Yeah...” Sora looked down at his hands, “They were larger hands... you know? And just... when our souls touched...it felt like a guy.”

 

“Okay then,” Cloud smiled softly and squeezed his hands at Sora’s shoulders, “Where have you looked so far?”

 

“Lea and Isa are checking to see if any older classmen took pictures of the other side of the monument.” Roxas stated, “Kairi’s gonna check with her sisters. We’re gonna meet up with her in about a half hour at the Usual Spot to see if we got any clues.”

 

“Let’s ask Aerith,” Zack offered, “She was kinda hanging back from the crowd, she might have caught something.”

 

Together, they headed down the hill to the shade of the trees nearby, where a very pregnant Aerith lounged in one of the lawn chairs Leon and the others had brought. 

 

“Oh, you’re back!” Aerith grinned, “Yuffie and Tifa just left to go get some food while we waited for Sora and Roxas to come back. Are we all ready to go then?”

 

“Not quite...” Zack looked back at Sora, who blushed again, but rushed to explain. 

 

“I think I met my soulmate but he was on the other side of the monument and I was hoping you would have pictures from that side.” He glanced up hopefully. 

 

Aerith blinked for a moment, thinking about it. “Was this towards the beginning or the end of the climb?”

 

“The end...”

 

“Oh...” Aerith side, “I’m afraid I came back here after the two hour mark, the sun was getting to me.”

 

Sora sighed, “Oh... well... than--”

 

“But... Yuffie took my phone to take pictures, saying that her storage was full...” She pulled out slim smartphone, protected by a bright pink case, “I haven't had a chance to see what she got yet.”

 

“Oh!” Eagerly, Sora looked over her shoulder while Aerith pulled up the gallery app. 

 

Predictably, most were of Sora, Roxas or their friends, all in varying states of drenched. And most were from Sora’s side of the monument.

 

“Wait!” Sora stopped her from flipping to the next pictures, “There!”

 

It wasn’t the best shot, blurry and too far away, but since Sora didn’t see his or Roxas’s spiky hair, he figured it must have been the other side of the monument, “Can you zoom in?”

 

Aerith did the best she could till the image wouldn’t zoom any more. “Still blurry...”

 

Sora thought he could make out the figure that was reaching around the monument. Definitely looked taller than the brunet, and...judging by those back muscles...

 

Sora swallowed around a suddenly dry throat again, and hoped he wasn’t turning back into a tomato. 

 

“Still can’t see his face...” Sora muttered, rubbing at his face in an attempt to hide his red cheeks. 

 

“What about his hair though?” Roxas piped up, coming around to see as well. 

 

“Someone’s stepping on his shoulders,” Sora grumbled, trying to get the camera to zoom in just a little more, “Can’t see it.”

 

“Maybe she got a better angle,” Aerith muttered, flipping to the next photograph. 

 

It was even worse. The figure that had been standing on Sora’s soulmate must have slipped, for the picture was a very blurry shot of them falling into the crowd below. Aerith flipped to the next shot, but it ended up being a picture of Neku, another one of Sora’s classmates. 

 

“Wait...can you flip back a moment, Aerith?” Roxas asked. 

 

The petite brunet complied, showing the blurry picture of the falling classmate. 

 

“I think that’s Hayner...” Roxas murmured. 

 

“My soulmate?” Sora squawked. He hoped not!

 

“No you idiot,” Roxas groaned, “C’mon, you guys touch hands all the time when you shake after struggle matches. I mean Hayner is the guy falling.”

 

“Oh...yeah...” Sora chuckled in embarrassment. Of course, he should have remembered that. Soulmate touches only happened once after puberty, and then never again. A good majority of teens met their soulmate when they were in their first years of college, if not high school. 

 

Of course, most soulmates were easy to figure out, shaking hands when greeting people, or offering a helping hand on and off boats (like in Uncle Zack and Aunt Aerith’s case). Maybe it was more difficult in the bigger cities, where a sudden brush of hands could happen in a busy crowd. But here on the islands? Not so much... Everyone knew everybody.

 

Which made it odd that Sora hadn’t already met his soulmate. As Kairi said, the Junior class wasn’t that big.

 

“You sure?” Uncle Zack asked. 

 

“Yeah, even with his stupid hair all flattened from the water,” Roxas sighed, “Only he would wear such obnoxious swim trunks.”

 

Sora glanced back at the picture, noticing that the guy falling did have on some bright pair of what looked like orange and green camouflage patterned swim trunks. “Oh yeah... you were with him when he bought those...”

 

“Yeah, and I kept trying to talk him out of it every step to the checkout counter.” Roxas groaned, “C’mon. He’ll likely be at the Usual Spot too with Olette and Pence.”

 

“Okay!” Sora grinned. Maybe Hayner would know...

 

“Hey... we’ll meet up with you guys at home.” Leon said, helping Cloud pack up the picnic they had brought while waiting for the event to start. “I gotta pick Vanitas and Ven up from their airport later.”

 

“Aqua and Terra are coming in too, right?” Aerith asked, taking Zack’s offered hand and using his support to stand up from the chair. 

 

“Yep... Vanitas isn’t thrilled about it.” Cloud mentioned, folding the picnic blanket.

 

“He’ll get over it.” Leon rolled his eyes, folding up Aerith’s chair, then turning back to the boys, “Hey Sora?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“When you find him, you better bring him over to meet the family.”

 

Sora chuckled nervously, “Yeah... okay...”

 

\--

 

The Usual Spot Ice Cream Stand was unusually busy, but Sora figured it might have been with the influx of students out of class. The underclassmen had to return to their last final of the year while the Juniors’ and Seniors’ school day ended with the Moana Climb. 

 

Kairi and Namine were already there, seated around a table with Pence and Olette. 

 

“Hey,” Roxas said, pushing Sora towards the table, “I’ll go order while you talk to those guys...”

 

“Kay!” Sora nodded, walking up to where his friends were already chowing down on their ice cream. “So...”

 

“We didn’t have anything...” Namine stated, looking up at him. “Sorry... I was more concerned with not getting stepped on.”

 

Pence and Olette nodded in agreement. 

 

“And Xion couldn’t get much more than a few blurry photos...” Kairi said. 

 

“That’s alright,” Sora grinned, looking back at Pence and Olette, “Is Hayner here? I think he might have a lead.”

 

“Don’t know...” Pence said, “He ran off in the crowd, saying that he was gonna get to the monument before Seifer could hose him down. Last I heard he had challenged the guy to a struggle match when Seifer made fun of Hayner’s failed climb...” 

 

Kairi rolled her eyes, “What’s he gonna do after Seifer graduates in two days? Travel to Twilight University to challenge him there?”

 

“Possibly...” Olette sighed. 

 

“I dunno...” Pence grinned, “I’m not sure he’d think Seifer was worth the money for the boat ride. Much less the train.”

 

“Poor Hayner’s gonna be so bored next year...” Kairi said. Sora couldn’t help but agree. 

 

“Hey, I’m gonna be what?” 

 

Speaking of, the blonde in question came up to their table, towel around his shoulders and what was possibly a black eye starting to form. 

 

“You didn’t really challenge Seifer to a struggle match, did you?” Olette asked. 

 

“Dude totally had it coming!” Hayner defended. “Besides, I won...”

 

“But your eye...” Sora pointed. 

 

“Oh... yeah, got that when I fell. No biggie, someone just had a bony shoulder...” Hayner shrugged, “So... did anyone get me ice cream or am I gonna have to--”

 

“Get your own,” Pence said, pointing towards the back of the line. Roxas was now only a few people behind the person in front. 

 

Hayner let out a sigh and made to go to the back of the line. 

 

“Wait, Hayner!” Sora went with him. 

 

“Isn’t Roxas getting yours?” Hayner asked. 

 

“Yeah, but...” Sora sighed, “I gotta ask you something...so you know right at the end of the climb? Right before Kairi switched the caps?”

 

“You mean right before I took my epic nose dive?” Hayner touched his face, right under the bruised eye. 

 

“Uh...yeah...” Sora chuckled, “Anyway... you know that guy you were standing on?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“You...wouldn’t happen to know his name, do you?” Sora quickly asked, “Or what he looked like?”

 

“Um....” Hayner crossed his arms in thought, “No...sorry... I had my eyes on the hat... didn’t really see the guys below me...”

 

“C’mon Hayner!” Sora pleaded, “I think that guy’s my soulmate...It’s a long story! I’ll explain it later!” Hayner’s confused look did not go away, but he did nod. “I mean,” Sora continued, “Just... anything on him?”

 

This time, Hayner closed his eyes, making a better effort to remember. “Probably taller than you... but not as tall as Lea...” the boy shrugged, “Might be a bit strong. He was holding me up pretty easily, till he like... twitched or something and I lost my balance.” 

 

“Right...” Sora sighed, “Anything else?”

 

“Well... now... this may be wrong as I only got a very brief glimpse before my face met someone else’s bony shoulder, but...” Hayner opened his eyes, “I think he might have had silver hair? Maybe a very light blonde.... But it looked nearly white...”

 

“Silver hair?” Sora blinked. He didn’t think there was anyone at school with silver hair... 

 

“Yeah... that’s why I’m not so sure...” Hayner shrugged, “Sorry I couldn’t be of more help.”

 

“Nah... it’s fine...” Sora sighed, “Thanks, though.” He walked back over to the table, leaving Hayner to wait for his ice cream. 

 

“Well?” Roxas asked, handing him a sea salt ice cream bar.

 

“Hayner said he may have had some kind of light color hair. Looked silver...”

 

“Silver?” Roxas blinked, then seemed to freeze. “It can’t be--”

 

“Roxas!!!” the doors opened, revealing a very happy redhead. “You got me ice cream, right?”

 

“Not a chance, you got your own money.” Roxas stuck out his tongue. 

 

“Ahh... but you’ll wait in line with me...right?” Without even waiting for an answer, the redhead pulled the blonde over the line, which was just starting to grow shorter. 

 

“What was that about?” Kairi wondered, blinking as they watched Lea bend down and whisper something into the shorter boy’s ear. 

 

Sora could tell that whatever Lea was telling Roxas was seriously pissing the blonde off, given the hard edge his brother’s eyes took. He didn’t seem to be mad at Lea though, and instead leveled his glare at Sora. 

 

Sora gulped. He never did like that glare. 

 

Lea laid a hand on the blonde shoulder before Roxas could come marching over though, squeezing softly. Slowly, the glare faded until the blonde just looked irritated with life. 

 

“Well... that was...” Pence started.

 

“Interesting...” Olette finished. 

 

“What did I do?” Sora wondered. 

 

He didn’t have to wait long to find out. Soon Hayner, then Lea and Roxas came back to their table, ice creams in hand. Roxas took one look at Sora, then sighed. 

 

“He better make you happy...”

 

“You know who he is?! Roxas!!” Sora shook his brother, “C’mon, just tell me!!”

 

“No way...” Roxas rolled his eyes, “I’d rather put off this encounter for as long as possible...”

 

“Aww.... c’mon Roxas, that’s a little unfair...” Lea grinned at the brunet, ruffling his hair. “Trust me though, he’s looking for you just as hard as you’re looking for him.”

 

“Really?” Sora blinked, “Wait... you’ve seen him?!”

 

“Heard it through the grapevine...” Lea rubbed the back his head, “See... the thing is... once I found out who it was, I kinda mentioned why I was looking to Demyx who was the one I got the info from. We kinda made a bet about it...” Lea huffed, “So.. while I do know who it is, I can’t tell you. Cause that will negate the bet and I’ll owe Demyx 500 munny... I need that to take Roxas out on a date later. I bet you guys would figure it out by the time the last school bell rings, so don’t go making me broke now, kay?   
  


“Lea!” Sora groaned, “That’s in like... an hour!”

 

“Better get moving then,” Lea grinned, “Last I heard, he was running around the school near the monument. Probably looking for you...”

 

Sora downed the rest of his ice cream and ran, throwing his trash out on his way out the door. 

 

He dodged other parents and students celebrating the last few days of school, heading back for the monument. 

 

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, Sora saw somebody dart around a tree, heading straight for him. The brunet tried to stop, but his feet tripped and he fell right into the other figure, knocking them both to the ground. 

 

“Shit! Sorry!” Sora hurried to get off the person, “I’m just--”

 

“It’s fine.” 

 

Sora blinked, not recognizing the deep voice and he glanced up, expecting to see a parent or maybe a wayward tourist. 

 

Turquoise eyes stared back at him. 

 

Framed by long silver white hair. 

 

“Oh shit. He’s hot.”

 

The other boy’s pale face instantly took on a shade of red and Sora felt his own cheeks redden. 

 

_ Did he really say that out loud?! _

 

“Shit, shit, shit!!” Sora hurriedly stood up, rubbing the back of his head, “I’m sorry... I was just... never mind. I--”

 

“It’s you...” The boy stated, cutting Sora off. 

 

“Huh?”

 

The boy’s blush darkened and it was his turn to stumble over his words, “Nevermind... Sorry... I thought you were... someone else.”

 

Sora glanced back at the boy, then made the connection in his brain. 

 

_ “I think he might have had silver hair?” _

 

“Wait... were you at the Moana Climb this afternoon?” Sora asked eagerly. 

 

“Huh? Of course. The whole Junior class had to participate.” The boy started to brush imaginary dirt from his white t-shirt.

 

“Wait...” Sora blinked, “You’re a Junior?” He didn’t recognize the boy, and Sora was pretty sure he knew everyone.

 

“Yeah... though I just started last month when my dad changed jobs... kinda got roped into the these activities without knowing what's going on.” The boy rubbed the back of his neck. 

 

“Oh...” Sora shook his head.  _ Focus _ ! “Anyway, were you near the top towards the end... and.... Maybe grabbed someone’s hand.”

 

Instantly, the boy froze, “Yeah...” 

 

Sora grinned and offered his hand, “I’m Sora.”

 

Hesitantly, the boy grinned and took the offered hand, “Riku.” 

 

Though the soul touch didn’t happen again, Sora knew that this was the same hand that had gripped his earlier. The callouses, the strong grip, everything was exactly like his memory. 

 

He glanced up at Riku’s face, seeing the same look of wonder mirrored on the older boys. 

 

“It’s you...”

 

The words were said in unison, and Sora couldn’t help but let out a delighted laugh, which was matched with a grin from the other boy. 

 

Sora had found his soulmate. How could he not be happy?

 

\---

 

“So... you did run around the other way?” Sora chuckled. No wonder they hadn’t found each other. They would have been just chasing each other around the monument.

 

“Guess so...” Riku grinned, poking Sora’s cheek. “We kinda think alike a bit...” 

 

Sora smiled in return and grabbed Riku’s hand where it was poking his cheek. He intertwined their fingers and relished in the contact. It was something he wasn’t sure he’d be able to give up so soon. “Hmm... I’m glad you stuck around then so I could find you...”

 

“Or just knock me down...” Riku huffed, squeezing Sora’s hand, “You know... I kinda hoped it’d be you...”

 

“Huh?” Sora blinked, “Why’d you hope that?”

 

“Hmm... I figured you hadn’t noticed me...I usually sit behind you in class. You were just... exuberant about everything. It was hard not to notice and admire”

 

Now Sora wished he wasn’t so oblivious. How had he missed a figurative god in his presence while at school?? And one who was funny and nice?? “Oh... sorry... I’m kinda... Unobservant ...and dense...Kairi calls me walnut head.”

 

“It’s fine...” the other boy’s eyes softened. “I wasn’t trying to draw attention to myself. Just... observing you, trying to figure out how to best introduce myself. Unfortunately... I think your brother caught me looking one day and told me off cause he thought I was glaring at you.” 

 

“Ahh...” The brunet nodded. Roxas could be... overprotective. “Sorry...”

 

“It’s fine...” Riku grinned, “I still got to meet you... so... I guess he’ll just have to forgive me?”

 

“Don’t count on it...” 

 

Sora startled at the voice behind him, turning to spot Roxas and the rest of the gang making their way back to the monument. Demyx and Isa had joined them. 

 

Somewhere by the clock tower, the final school bell tolled and Demyx let out a groan. 

 

“Seriously? I thought for sure walnut head would just keep running in circles...” He passed the money on to Lea who counted it with glee. 

 

“Sorry...” Sora grinned, “I had gotten a bit of a hint from Hayner. I don’t think anyone else on the islands has silver hair like this...” He hesitantly ran a hand through Riku’s hair, who preened at the touch. 

 

Oh... that was definitely gonna become a thing now. 

 

“Except my younger brother...” Riku said, “And my dad...” He shrugged. “But yeah. I think I’m the only one in your class...” 

 

“So you are a Junior,” Kairi crossed her arms, “Did... you just move here?”

 

“Yeah... about a month ago...” Riku shrugged, “Dad got this transfer and it couldn’t wait till the end of the school year. So my brother and I started school very late in the semester. It... hasn’t been fun.” 

 

“Just think, though,” Olette grinned, ‘If you hadn’t moved when you did you may not have met Sora...” 

 

“He would have just met him in Senior year...” Roxas grumbled.

 

“Yeah, but... maybe they would have had different classes and never got the chance to meet,” Pence pointed out. 

 

“I doubt it,” Roxas stated dryly, taking a another bite out of what had to have been his second or maybe even third ice cream bar, “Sora is friends with everyone. Once he found out there was someone in our class he didn’t know, Sora would be all over him...”

 

“Looks like he’s already all over him...” Kairi teased.

 

Sora blushed, and pushed the redhead lightly, “Shut up...” 

 

“Hmm...” Riku thought, “I’m glad it happened anyway... Now I can have the whole summer getting to know you...”

 

“Yeah...” Sora grinned, looking forward to it. 

 

“Yeah, well first you’ll have to make it through Leon...” Roxas finished off his ice cream and gestured with the remaining stick, “And Cloud... and Yuffie, and Uncle Zack and Aunt Aerith, and--”

 

“If I can make it through all of them, I don’t think Riku here will have a problem...” Lea took the stick from Roxas’s hand, checking it quickly for a “Winner” stamp before throwing it out in the nearby trash can. “You don’t have a rap sheet with arson on it, right?” 

 

“Uh...” Riku blinked in confusion, “No?” 

 

“See? He’s already one step up!” Lea grinned and wrapped an arm around Roxas, “You’ll fit right in.” 

 

“So... you can come have dinner with us?” Sora asked, “It’s not a big deal, just an end of school party. Everyone usually comes...”

 

“Besides,” Roxas added, “Leon practically demanded you come...”

 

“I-uh... sure...” Riku agreed, then squeezed Sora’s hand, “Can I talk to you alone really quick though?”

 

Sora nodded, waving for his friends and family to continue back to the house without him. Then he turned back to Riku, “What’s wrong... are... did I move too fast?” He made to pull his hand away, but Riku held on tight. 

 

“No. I would have said something...” The other boy’s face flushed. “Actually I... never mind... that would be moving too fast...” 

 

“What?” The brunet tilted his head. This didn’t seem to help Riku’s cause as he started to trip over his words.

 

“Do... do you mind... can we...” Fingers squeezed his while another hand came up to cup Sora’s face gently. “Canwegoonadate?”

 

“Huh?” Sora took a second to try to translate that, “Uh... a date? Right? You want to go on a date?” at the silver haired boy’s nod, Sora grinned, “Sure! I really want to but... we’re soulmates so I kinda thought...”

 

“I know...” Riku huffed, “I just... promised myself that if I ever got the courage to talk to you, I’d ask you out on a date. Even if we weren’t soulmates... I wanted... just...” He let out a sigh and Sora giggled. 

 

“It’s okay...” He looked up at Riku’s face, which was just started to return to a normal color. “Can I ask you something?”

 

“Uh... sure?”

 

“Can I kiss you on the cheek?” now it was Sora’s turn to blush, “I really want to, but I didn’t want to overstep.”

 

Riku blinked but then grinned and nodded, leaning down just a bit so Sora didn’t have to strain on his toes so much. 

 

Sora grinned and leaned in, brushing his lips against a warm cheek, bristling with some light stubble. When he pulled away, Riku’s face was flushed, but he looked happy. “Come on... Roxas is right, Leon did pretty much insist you come over. Will your dad be okay with it?”

 

Riku shrugged, “I think so... I kinda called him after the Climb and told him I had met you but had to find you... he just said good luck and to be home by nine.”

 

“Okay!” Sora started to lead the way back to the house, pulling Riku behind him. “I think you’re gonna love it here. I can show you all the best spots and we can row out to the play island! And In the summer there’s fireworks off the town dock every night!” He grinned back at the other boy, “Can I show you around?”

 

Riku nodded, “It’s a date.”

**Author's Note:**

> So, the Moana Climb is based on a tradition held at the US Naval Academy every spring where the plebes (youngest class) climb an obelisk monument and replace a dixie cup sailor hat with a combination cover, signifying that they are "plebes no more." It's sort of a team building/ final "training exercise" that caps off their probation year. (And it can be entertaining to watch. One year they got the idea to tie their shirts together to form a rope and try to climb the monument Mulan style. I was disappointed no one started singing 'be a man'). Of course, I changed here to the Moana Climb because a) I will tie Moana in to Kingdom Hearts every chance I get till it becomes a canon world. and b ) because why not? 
> 
> Dumb title is dumb. Could not think of anything else...


End file.
